I want to welcome you off.

Let me start off.

My name is Angela Davis Farish, and I proudly serve as the chairperson of the African American Advisory Committee for the beautiful city of New York.

With the members of the triple AC, please stand.

We have Elder Mark McLean, Leslie Adams, Leslie Gaskin, Nate Adams, of course, and Lisa Burton.

And of course, this is a celebratory moment, not only for the city of New Rochelle, but also for the entire country as we are recognizing an amazing holiday of Juneteenth.

At this time, I will turn this portion of the program over to our illustrious MC by the name of Nate Adams.

And he will serve as our masters of ceremony.

And as you all know, Nate is a pillar in this community, making sure, especially that our young black and brown boys have a place, a safe place where they can go and engage.

So Nate, let's give it up for Nate, because he's has done a marvelous job in terms of making sure that our young men are in a safe place.

So Nate, it's all yours.

Thank you, Angela Davis Farish for those kind remarks.

We thank then President Biden in 2021, enacting this as a federal holiday.

But it goes beyond enacting this as a federal holiday.

This has been our story.

This is our song.

This is something that we are continually fighting for as we continue as African Americans in our community, in our state and in our country.

As we're seeing things getting pulled back, sometimes we feel like we're going backwards.

But I know a city like New Rochelle, we will continue to move forward as we uplift and do the work for African Americans in this community.

Some people I think might have gone down to the parade.

I couldn't make the parade, but I got the text message, and he said, Oh man, I forgot you're MC in tonight.

I said, So did I.

So I knew I was gonna be here, but I'm so happy to be able to enjoy, especially recognizing our honoree.

Um what great work has been done um in the city in the last few years under this leadership, and we want to thank her for her continued efforts for the city of New Rochelle.

So I want to bring up now our fantastic mayor, your dear Ramos Herbert, to come up and give some remarks.

It's a pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate this event, but I first want to recognize that some of my elected colleagues who've also taken the time to join us.

Assemblymember Steve Otis is here.

County legislator Terry Clemens is here.

My wonderful colleagues on the city council, Sarah Kay, representing District 5, David Peters, representing District 3, Shane Aushin Lee, representing District 4.

Just scanning the room to see our wait, hold on.

We have okay, wait.

Fela from this the library board.

And our newly elected school board member Carmen Perez.

And Juneteenth for me, it's it's there's so many thoughts and emotions, right?

And I think in so many ways it summarizes the African American experience in this country.

It's a time for celebration, but also a reminder that our freedom, our liberty, our progress is something we're gonna always have to fight for in this country.

And I think in particular under this administration, where we want to pretend history isn't what it is, we want to pretend the lived experiences of black people here is not what it is.

Um it's even more important that we take the time to celebrate Juneteenth.

And I'm so proud of our city and grateful to the African American Advisory Committee and making sure that this event stays on the calendar, that we raise the flag, that we celebrate the raising of the flag, and we celebrate the contributions of African Americans in this country, but certainly we know New Road wouldn't be what it is without the contributions of African Americans here.

Um I look in the audience and it's friends and family, people who I care for so deeply, so I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this than to be in community with each of you.

So thank you for coming out today.

We also like to bring up right now our city manager, uh Wilfredo Melendez.

Thanks, Nate.

Thank you.

Uh thanks to the Triple AC uh for the work they do.

It's great to collaborate with that group on a regular basis.

Uh it's a lot of good work that comes out of that, and that's really um really a testament to their dedication to this city and to that passion they have to the to the community.

Um thanks to the staff who puts this together every year.

It's always a lot of work and a lot of little things that have to get done, and thank you for that work.

Um, thanks to the mayor, council for your support and the electors that show up here to support these things, these events.

So thanks for joining us today for this recognition of Juneteenth.

Um, as our nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, this year's Juneteenth celebration takes on a real special significance.

Uh many of our celebrations of America's story are focused on looking back at our collective past.

And while Juneteenth will always be connected to that final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, it also serves as an opportunity for us to look ahead.

So think for a second about the first observance of what was called Jubilee Day on June 19th, 1986.

So formerly enslaved people celebrating their freedom while also educating fellow freed men on how to vote and participate in the political process.

These people who experienced some of the darkest days of our history, we're still able to look forward to better days.

And thinking back just five short years ago when Juneteenth was designated a federal holiday, gave many Americans reeling from the events of 2020 a chance to celebrate our collective progress and look ahead.

So that's the focus.

The theme is looking ahead to a brighter tomorrow.